How many engineers . . .

charlie b

charlie b

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Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
. . . does it take to replace a light bulb? In my case, one was not enough, even with help from 3 teenage assistants.

Full disclosure: This is a DIY project, or would be unless I have to hire an electrician to do complete replacements.

5 year old townhouse. Several ceiling can lights, with flood light bulbs, in hallway, one of which is out and others are flickering. I bought replacement LED bulbs. But neither I nor my assistants could unscrew any of the bulbs - they would not budge. We pulled one slightly away from the ceiling and looked behind it. See the (admittedly poor) attached photo. I can't tell whether I just need to try harder to unscrew the bulbs, or whether the bulb and fixture are a single entity that must be replaced together.

Any thoughts?

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You say, flood light bulb, but it looks like an LED retrofit trim that has a pigtail going to the lampholder. I would think that you just need to unscrew harder, but I could see a scenario where a manufacturer put porcupine spines in to prevent backing out like an S type fuseholder. I have never seen this though. I may not recommend this on a job, but in my house, I wouldn't have a problem with trying to force it. Worst case you breaker the lampholder and you just need to cut it out and wirenut the wires together with the new fixture. Or to do it "right" get a ballast disconnect and wire it in.
 
Looks like the same thing I put in my family room... a traditional base to go into the socket, then lead wires to an LED panel. Maybe the crew just isn't twisting the right spot?
 
It appears to be a retrofit LED. It should just unscrew from the lamp socket. Perhaps just a bit more force or a basin wrench
 
Reach inside and unscrew the wiring that goes into the socket. You may have to use some force or get a short pair of channelocks to unscrew it.
 
winnie said:
Where exactly were you trying to unscrew?

Between the bulb and the trim, or at the end of the pigtail and the can.
Click to expand...
I think this was my issue. I am accustomed to grabbing the bulb itself, such as one in a floor lamp, and unscrewing it from its socket. I have never encountered an "LED retrofit kit." I should mention that we are the second owners of this townhouse, and I doubt the original owners did any retrofitting. So these fixtures are original to the house.
 
charlie b said:
I think this was my issue. I am accustomed to grabbing the bulb itself, such as one in a floor lamp, and unscrewing it from its socket. I have never encountered an "LED retrofit kit." I should mention that we are the second owners of this townhouse, and I doubt the original owners did any retrofitting. So these fixtures are original to the house.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there is no changing bulbs. You change the entire kit.
 
I am guessing that in order to buy replacements, I would need to take one down and bring it to the store. As I have become allergic to ladders, this will have to wait until one or more of my "assistants" (my grandson and two of his friends, who came over to help me hang a shelving unit and to clean the basement) are available.

Or would all I need to tell the lighting store sales rep is the size of the trim?
 
I have been getting complaints about those things they flicker, fail or the color drifts.
People want the ability to change a light-bulb.
Some brands you can convert back to a regular can light by ordering a standard trim it looks like that may be your best option.
I'd recommend a Phillips 'Ultra Definition' PAR 30 or PAR 20 they are 3000k, 800 Lumen and 95 CRI, dim well and never flicker.
 
charlie b said:
I think this was my issue. I am accustomed to grabbing the bulb itself, such as one in a floor lamp, and unscrewing it from its socket. I have never encountered an "LED retrofit kit." I should mention that we are the second owners of this townhouse, and I doubt the original owners did any retrofitting. So these fixtures are original to the house.
Click to expand...
That looks like a 6" can. You can either get a replacement LED trim, or when you get the trim out, buy a LED bulb like was mentioned, but you would need to buy another trim piece. If you get new LED trim kit, I suggest Halo, or Juno.
 
charlie b said:
I am guessing that in order to buy replacements, I would need to take one down and bring it to the store. As I have become allergic to ladders, this will have to wait until one or more of my "assistants" (my grandson and two of his friends, who came over to help me hang a shelving unit and to clean the basement) are available.

Or would all I need to tell the lighting store sales rep is the size of the trim?
Click to expand...
Since you are an Engineer I will be detailed. For a typical homeowner I would say, just measure the opening, that is all you need, but for you... The size of the hole is the only issue that will determine whether it will work or it needs to be thrown away. The other issues YOU want to consider. How many lumens, and the color temperature. The easy way to deal with this is to buy a slightly more expensive kit that has switches to adjust both of these parameters. Then you can mix and match at home with your wife's input.

Lastly, they are called "retrofit", but in residential this is usually what they install in new situations.
 
Replace these things with some nice RGB smart lights. Nothing more energizing than arriving home to a house full of rainbow colors.
 
tortuga said:
I'd recommend a Phillips 'Ultra Definition' PAR 30 or PAR 20 they are 3000k, 800 Lumen and 95 CRI, dim well and never flicker.
Click to expand...
Never say Never...
I have always recommended Phillips brand LEDs. Have used a lot of the "Warm Glow" Phillips with great success.
Just had a new Phillips "Ultra Definition" Par30 flicker. Have two Phillips Warm glow lights on the same dimmer with no flicker. Replaced one of them with an Ultra Definition Par 30 for downlight effect and it flickers at full on position. The Warm Glow on same switch, in parallel, does not. :{
I suspect the Par30 would be fine on a circuit without a dimmer. Was sad to see that because I favor Phillips.
Unfortunately the causes for LED flicker are many and varied so it is tough to say they will never flicker in any or all installs.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Unfortunately there is no changing bulbs. You change the entire kit.
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Not to mention, you are almost guaranteed to NOT find a duplicate trim package. Manufacturers changes styles like the rest of us change socks. Unless you're happy with an oddball in the ceiling, you'll have to change all of them. By extras for the future.
 
gadfly56 said:
Not to mention, you are almost guaranteed to NOT find a duplicate trim package. Manufacturers changes styles like the rest of us change socks. Unless you're happy with an oddball in the ceiling, you'll have to change all of them. By extras for the future.
Click to expand...
I can’t even find duplicate lamps. Sylvania 3500K. Already have different colored above the bathroom mirrors. I’ve gotten used to it but frustrating.
 
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